The present disclosure relates generally to controlling access to information or applications stored on an electronic device, such as a handheld or portable device. This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Portable electronic devices, such as notebook computers, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and so forth, are commonly used to store various types of confidential information. Such confidential information may include phone numbers, personal and professional contacts, information related to finances or financial accounts, business related projects, personal photos or videos, and so forth. While storing such confidential information on a portable electronic device allows the user greater flexibility in terms of how, when, and where to use such data, it also increases the risk that the confidential data may be lost or stolen. In particular, if the portable electronic device is lost or stolen, any confidential information stored on the device may be at risk.
Conventional security measures, such as the use of alphanumeric security codes (e.g., passwords or personal identification numbers (PINs)), may fail to provide adequate security. In particular, screens or fields for entering a password or PIN may be obvious to a bystander who may be able to view the security code and will recognize the code to be a password or PIN. In addition, users often select passwords or PINS that can be guessed, such as passwords based on the names of family members or pets or PINS that are based on birthdays. Security codes such as these may be guessed by acquaintances or others who have only a casual relationship with the owner of the device and thus do not provided a high degree of security for the stored confidential information. Thus, use of conventional alphanumeric security codes may provide insufficient security for confidential information stored on portable or other electronic devices.